I’m through talking the talk…

… it’s time to live it. (Starting out a blog post with lyrics from a Blackalicious song, yep.)

Passenger’s log:

Stardate: 2012年5月14日

5/14, 02:00:
おはよございます！（ーー；）zZz

Find out more, keep on reading! (alert: looooooong)

04:21
At the airport. Nobody is here. Aight.

04:50
On my way to security. Passport, photo ID and boarding pass in hand.

06:48
This flight is supposed to land at 6:53 AM… Why are they serving drinks? Oh wait, time zones.

5/14, 06:00 (-1):
Right-o. Every time a time change occurs I’ll include the date (and time difference if I remember.)

11:36
Boarding! I can’t wait for those in-seat TVs!

12:00
Apparently that’s a first class only feature. Looks like movies will still be played, though we don’t get to choose. Not like I got time to watch TV, gotta sleep. ‘night.

14:48
My first meal is arriving soon. I got 3 choices, though they say it’s limited by what the other passengers chose. Hope it tastes like chicken!

15:11
Nope, outta chicken, but instead I got treated to vegetarian! Quite delicious. They got the rice and the lettuce and the carrots and the strongest, bitterest tea you could imagine. Just how I like it!

15:13
Before you ask me when 15 o’clock is, I’m on 24-hour time. (its standard in some countries too) We haven’t crossed over the international date line yet so I’m sticking with Chicago time since I don’t know where we are right now. I was hoping this plane would have TVs in the back of each seat, but it turns out the 747 is an older model, despite being one of the largest in the fleet. They’ve updated this one with flat-screens, but I was expecting a bit more from a 12 hour flight. Eh, guess I don’t need anything more than a seat and a tray table. And a phone to take notes.

15:25
All the windows in the plane closed in the 2 minutes I was in the lavatory. Guess everyone decided it was time for bed. I wish it felt like bedtime.

15:26
My passport is in my backpack. I saw my passport in my backpack. My passport was verified to be in my backpack. Wait up, I’m going to check once more.

15:27
Yep, everything is here. Can’t check too many times though.

17:00
Well, it’s still light as heck outside. I’d better get used to the idea that today will be the longest “day” I’ve ever physically experienced. Not bad actually. I decided to read “The Stand” for the last hour or so. Glad I’m not the main characters. Also, filled out the customs form.

17:04
It’s been a good flight, and I bet we’ll be landing anytime soon. Any time in the next 8 or 9 hours.

17:06
Any time now.

17:07
I think I’ll go to bed. Nighty night.

17:24
Still working on that sleep.

18:56
Guess I got that sleep. The flight attendant woke me up, and it would have driven me bananas except that she gave me a banana! Snack time! It’s still sunny outside, as it should be.

19:07
Ginger ale is pretty darn good. Good for you, good for your health. At least that’s what the old rumors say. I’m having my third can. They’re pretty good about offering beverages every hour.

19:13
Gotta drink it quick else you’ll be stuck with it until they come around for trash again. 12oz of soda is meant to be enjoyed, not chugged (-｡-;

5/15, 09:58 (-10):
Alright, I don’t know where we are, but I’ll assume we’re pretty close to changing time-zones. I know we’ve changed a few, so I’ll go on Tokyo time from now on. It’s now freaking morning. Rise and shine, and I got a full day’s worth of travel ahead of me. Aren’t I lucky! Still on the same plane. To be honest, this is all pretty exciting so I’m not really peeved about it, I’m just getting tired! I got a layover in Narita, then by late at night we’ll be getting into the hotel! I can’t wait. No jet lag yet. Bring it on! (We’ll see if I end up eating those words later.)

10:12
They’ve stopped displaying the airship’s voyage over the telescreen. I may never know where we are unless the captain announces it over the PA or if these in-flight commercials ever cease. How’s that for a different writing style? Meh, back to rambling.

10:16
This is why Twitter is better for microblogging. I guess this is more of a live blog without many photos. A dog is eating a slipper on the inflight entertainment right now.

10:35
Countdown to touchdown: 04:35
Well now, the video monitor is showing GPS data again. Finally! Now I now how long it’ll take. We’re well past Alaska and almost there on the map. Guess “almost there” just means we’re 8 hours in. Least I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s saying that it’s the middle of the day rather than 9:38 PM Eastern time. -57 degrees Fahrenheit out there, I’m glad I’m in here (^ ^)

14:32
I awake from a nap to the thought “Are we THERE yet?” also, to a delicious turkey sandwich. Mine eyes be itching with the sting of no sleep in nearly 24 hours, but it’s still sunny out there. Is this day going to end?

14:45
Countdown to touchdown: 1 hour
The captain says they’re experiencing some turbulence and will be turning on the seatbelt sign in 5 minutes. I think he’s being nice in that regard since half the plane is standing up in preparation for landing.

14:53
Countdown to landing: 52 minutes
Eyes are burning, ears are starting to feel the pressure of a 30,000 foot descent, customs form is fully completed, it’s sunny outside. Feels like I’ve got a cold. I’m not as anxious to disembark the plane as I thought I’d be though. My phone has been holding up miraculously through all of this at just under 50% right now. (49% if you must know) Hopefully we’ll be on the ground soon. From how my eyes feel I probably shouldn’t try to take any more easily interrupted naps.

15:03
Starting to sneeze. It’s also time to land. G’bye for now…

16:00
Landed at Narita! Got my bags and went through customs. Their system was down and they had to reboot it. Windows XP, classy. I’m recalling from Chicago like it was a day ago. I guess it really was, though it feels like not. I’m actually pretty energetic right now. Don’t feel tired in the least.

18:32
Went through the Narita Airport and got $80 exchanged to ¥. The exchange rate is better for them than for us.

22:30
No wifi anywhere! I wish I knew if calling voicemail was charged per minute, but I can’t look it up! Am I useless without this phone? I gotta to to bed.